


Save Elfi (or save Peter?)

by reslohomora



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - Fandom, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: CPR, Cardiopulmonary Resuscation, Drowning, Hurt Peter Parker, Irondad, Temporary Character Death, Whump, tides
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 12:21:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18850972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reslohomora/pseuds/reslohomora
Summary: It’s strange how it only takes one second for a very good day in Tony’s live to turn into his worst nightmare.When Morgan almost runs straight into a tide to save her beloved floatie, Peter doesn’t hesitate to come for her rescue. But not even Spider-Man can withstand the immense powers of nature





	Save Elfi (or save Peter?)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aurealis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurealis/gifts).



> This has been heavily inspired by one of plenty headcanon talks with Aurealis and something in me just /had/ to write it all down.
> 
> It’s basically whump, with some minor fluffy cuteness at the beginning and in between, but it’s whumpy cuteness.  
> You’ve been officially warned now.
> 
> For Trigger Warnings, check the end notes, but basically everything is mentioned in the tags

It’s a way too hot day, even for July, Tony realizes, literally wrapping Morgan in her third layer of sun-cream for that day. Pepper was dozing next to him after they’d pulled up a water battle just half an hour earlier - one of those things that filled Tony with even more admiration for that beautiful woman: she could be all fun and crazy when time was right for it, but at the same time, she could be caring, responsible, and cool-headed. Looking back, this was a rare combination that he had only managed to find in very few people - including Peter Parker.

The kid, Tony refused to see him as the young man he was becoming, was currently fixing several construction issues his first one in command had pointed out about their sand castle.  
“Look, daddy.” Morgan babbled excitedly, waving with the arm that her dad wasn’t holding. “Peter is fixing our sand tower.”  
“It’s just waiting for its Princess.” The boy announced in return. “Once her highness has returned, she ought to christen it.” Morgan giggled - a sound that literally forced Tony to smile - at the way Peter was talking to her like she was being an actual princess. Which of course she was in his and her parents eyes, but that was something totally different than actually having the reign over a beautiful, self-made sand-isle called Ironcorn-Land. (Tony had rolled his eyes at the name, unable to stop grinning. God, this girl was really _unique_ ).  
“Coming!” She announced once he finally let her go, only after pressing a kiss to her forehead.  
And those were their summer days: Jumping in the water when the sun was low, a happily squealing Morgan in their middle - or sitting below a row of sunshades building sand castles. They were only three days into the trip and Tony had filled half of the camera storage with images already.  
Technically, it should’ve been one of those staying in his mind for the rest of his life, but in fact, the day he remembered most vividly was the sixth - and last for that summer.

* * *

 

 _SPLASH._ Water was hitting Tony’s face full force. His eyes needed a while to adjust but once they did, all he could see was the bright grin on Peter’s face.  
“Oh, just you wait, kiddo.” He said, trying to sound as menacing as possible. It ends up sounding so ridiculous that Morgan starts erupting into the most adorable toddler laugh ever. Peter struggles with keeping her up on his shoulders for a second but no one actually dreads her to fall off. None of them would let that happen, Peter least of all. He shields her face when Tony pushes a wave into their direction. His daughter begins leaning forward, rapidly clapping her hands so water is spurting upwards and in his direction. Tony acts as if the attack was too heavy to fight against (causing Morgan to squeal in happiness again) and pretends to be defeated. In a matter of fact, he could go on watching both his beautiful children beaming with happiness - but it was time for Morgan to leave the water.  
“Don’t want you to get webbings.” He explained at her disappointed glare. Luckily Pepper was better in withstanding the girls pout than he was, because otherwise, they’d probably start to wiz in about an hour.  
The woman handed them three huge towels before turning for Peter, his soda bottle in hand.  
“You should really drink some more. We’ve been here all day and you’ve barely finished half of this.” Peter muttered something under his breath, but Tony fell in:  
“Uh-uh, kid. No protests.”  
“Uh-uh.” Morgan echoed, sucking eagerly at her _Capri-Sun._ Cuteness of that sight was enough for Peter to be convinced to take a huge sip himself.  
“There you go.” Tony half-mocked. Peter rolled his eyes but said nothing more until they were really starting to pack. After almost a week of vacation, the roles were already set: Tony put a mostly dried Morgan under Peter’s care, helping Pepper with collecting their stuff while discussing lunch choices. The kids had already thrown in their ideas, so Peter was fully concentrated on getting his sister by heart dressed.  
“No! I wanna wear my Spidey shirt.” Morgan argued when he attempted to pull a plain rose colored one over her head. That she actually owned one was more or less a joke on Tony’s side, but it had quickly grown to be the girl’s favorite. It reminded her of him when he was off at MIT.  
“Alright. You good?” Peter asked, checking her from head to toe. Shirt, shorts, a mint-blue bolero on top to protect her arms from the sun.  
“Yeah.” She dropped herself on his camp bed. “Your turn. I wait.” With her arms crossed, she looked literally like a miniature copy of her father.  
But despite having inherited his appearance first and foremost, her four year old self lacked the elder man’s rationality. Spotting her elephant floatie on the surface in some distance of the shore, she panicked. It had been Peter’s present for her birthday this year and she loved it. Even more important, she had _promised_ to take care of it. No way she would let it vanish with the tide?  
By the time she ran of, Tony had just found a good Italian restaurant just a ten minute drive away, Pepper was folding a blanket and Peter was slipping into his short jeans. When he looked up, the girl was already gone - and he already knew there was only one direction she could have run to.  
“Shit!” He cursed loudly, the out of character behavior immediately catching Tony’s and Pepper’s attention. His in shock widened eyes followed the boy running towards the open see, towards the tide - towards his daughter, half walking, half swimming behind the way too huge grey floatie.  
The adrenaline rush set in immediately when he made his way following them - the second Peter had reached Morgan.  
“Hey, princess!” The kid was out of breath, not because of physical exhaustion but rather by the panic that had settled in when he’d spotted her so far away from the shore. He took her up on his shoulders, ignoring the cries and kicks of a tantrum caused by a lack of understanding for how dangerous the situation was. “What were you thinking, huh?! You can’t just run off!”  
“ELFI!” Morgan screamed, kicking her legs, lower lip wobbling. Peter didn’t have time to worry about that, though. He could clearly feel the water fighting against his steps, it’s power quicker and stronger than Peter’s spider abilities. He saw Tony running towards them and signed him to stop. It already took him all his strength to keep standing upright, Tony wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure, and they could not risk him getting caught in the tide.  
“I want my floatie.” Morgan muttered unhappily, sniffling. “I wa-wanted to take care of it, be-because you said it was special.”  
Peter shook his head, protecting his eyes from the wind crushing against him, other hand tightening the grip on the girl on top of him. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll buy you a new one.” He promised, all to get Morgan to calm down and stop crying. Tony was close, it was just a few meters. “One twice as special” he added, when it still did not work. His next words were swallowed by surprise.  
Tony’s world became static the second he watched Peter stumbling. The boy himself, however, was now filled with sheer determination: Morgan needed to get out of the water, right now. Goal in mind, he decided to go for the only possibly course of action. Letting her down and pushing her forward with all the strength he could still muster, praying Tony would catch her.  
He did, obviously, pressing her close, but his heart refused to stop racing, because Peter had lost his hold, being carried away by tide current. Morgan was panicky screaming his name, but her father seemed to be oblivious to it. Because, while he was holding his daughter safe and secure, his son (who cared about genetics) was lost to the water.  
“Baby!” Pepper whispered, wrapping her arms around the small body before consciously realizing someone was missing.  
“I’ll get him.” It was not a question, and Pepper didn’t even have time to disagree before Tony made his way back.  
Easier said than done, he realized. With the current still going, chances where high he would float off, too, shrinking Peter‘s chances for a rescue. The boy was already basically nowhere to be seen. Tony screamed into the distance, louder than even the hammering sound of his heartbeat, trying to quieten his thoughts.  
You _don‘t know where he is. He‘s drowning, right now, and you don‘t even know how to get to him._

Morgan had turned quiet once her dad ran off. Being unable to yet understand the full capacity of what was happening, her emotions were simply mirroring those of her parents: Worry and dread. Pepper rocked her gently, but the movement failed to be calming. Not when she held her close, the fear of almost loosing her daughter still deep in her bones.  
Passing minutes felt like a gruesome eternity until finally, Tony was back in both their lines of view.  
Until then, a part of Pepper had already imagined the worst of realities, her husband lost under crushing waves, too. She knew he would never risk his life if he didn‘t fircely believe he‘d succeed, but on the other hand, this was Peter they were talking about. Over all the years, Tony had grown to love the boy like a son. He would never forgive himself if something happened to the boy. Especially when it happened rescuing someone just as close to him. Right now, seeing him coming closer back to the shore, she saw that there was an even more horrifying reality than that: A seemingly motionless form in his arms.  
“Stay here, sweetie, okay? Promise me you’ll stay here.” Morgan nodded, not feeling able to answer verbally. She was still sniffling, but Pepper couldn’t spend much time soothing her, not right now. Peter currently needed her focus more direly than she did. Her hands where shaking when she panicky searched for her phone. Usually, she could remember by heart where she had left it, but right now, thinking straight wasn’t even an option. Factually, it was a miracle she could recall the number of Emergency Services.  
Connection was established the moment she reached the pair, for a moment unable to say anything but look at the sight in front of her: Peter was soaking wet, water having plastered his hair to his face, making it look almost black in contrast to the pale, white skin below. Other than that, he looked just as always, exactly like the Peter fallen asleep on the couch during a movie night. Pepper had grown to love those sceneries, especially when Morgan cuddled herself close to the boy.  
Someone was calmly asking a question on the other end of the line, and as if he’s heard it, Tony shook his head in response, fingers moving away from the kid’s throat and up to his face. Pepper barely found the strength within her to answer the question verbally. Her husband began leaning over their basically adopted child when she was giving her conversationalist all vital informations.  
Tony didn’t waste a minute once he couldn’t detect a pulse. It did not come as a surprise, given that it had took him a few minutes to bring the kid back to the safety of the shore, already sunken face down in the water. A part of him, buried under rationality and the knowledge that he couldn’t allow himself to waste time, was screaming in panic, because this was Peter. This was Peter laying lifeless in front of him.  
“It’s fine.” Tony whispered, tonelessly, tilting Peter’s head back and lifting his chin. Without any hesitation he bend down, exhaling into the boy’s mouth, lips looked tight. Instead of disapproval and shock, the only response he got was the unhealthy coolness of the contact. Peter should fight against it. This was nowhere near to their normal interactions.  
But he didn’t. He just didn’t.  
Just like the air never made it’s way into his lungs. His cheeks had only puffed a little, followed by a minor spurt of water when his body involuntarily exhaled.  
The water. Tony realized. God, how much water he must’ve swallowed. Pepper was by his side now, radiating with the fear he did not allow to surface. They didn’t even communicate, not really, at least. She helped wordlessly when he grabbed the boy by his shoulder and thigh, maneuvering the limp form in a sitting position. Tony quickly and effectively moved his arms around Peter’s middle, pushing hard and heavy. The positioning was horribly uncomfortable, but Tony didn’t find it within himself to complain, channeling the energy in the repetitions of his movements. Pepper, in the meantime, turned Peter’s face a little, ensuring that the water rushing up from his stomach and lungs would truly make it’s way out. Thirty seconds and countless pushes later, the fluid turned into just as colorless foam, and she gestured Tony that they could turn the boy back on his back. Tony simply nodded before asking:  
“How long?”  
“They said they need twenty minutes, at least.” Back when they planned out the trip, choosing a remote, not well-known beach seemed like the best idea for true relaxation. Obviously, they hadn’t considered ever needing immediate medical attention at that time.  
However, the number only encouraged Tony, forcefully holding his panic at bay. They just had to pass those twenty minutes, and he would make goddamn sure that Peter would. He had time for guilt and horrendous feelings of grief after that.  
“Alright. Don’t worry about it, Peter. We’ve got you.” He said, taking a lungful of air before forcing it through the kid’s mouth. His lips had gotten even colder, the bluish color now far too visible. Tony fought to hold back small whimpers during the following four rescue breaths, not allowing the seal to be opened. Peter needed as much air as he could get, and Tony could rarely offer enough of it as it was.  
“C’mon, you can do that.” He said, more to himself than to the kid, firmly pushing Pepper aside to get into the proper position for chest compressions. Up until now, the only time he ever had to do them was in a first aid session with the other Avenger’s - including Peter. Two hour training was rewarded with positive results in the emergency testing afterwards. He and the boy had been proud beyond comprehension when the tutor had told them their dummy patient had survived.  
Reality was cruel, twisting the memory like that, making the pride instantaneously vanish and replacing it with sickening nausea: Finding the right spot on the breastbone with practiced ease, he was surprised how easily the bones gave in under the force of his upper body, transferred by the stiff, straightened position of his arms. Peter gagged weakly, but Tony knew better than to interpret as a sign of coming back - it was a mere reflexive response to the pressure put on his body, causing his limp fingers to twitch and his stomach to bulge out.  
In the corner of his eyes he saw Pep moving, placing herself next to Peter’s slightly lolling head, waiting for him to finish the current round of compressions. Tony found the curtesy for a nod, but nothing else as he concentrated on the speed and depth of his resuscitation efforts.  
“29, 30.” He counted before raising his hands a little, signing Pepper to do what she’d set herself up to do. While she straightened the kid’s neck, Tony was forced to look down. With his hands and the repetitive movement gone, Peter now laid deathly still, form motionless until air from Pepper’s lungs made his chest rise slightly, water droplets falling from his slack mouth when she leaned back to inhale for herself.  
Reflex and hope made Tony grasp for the kid’s wrist, two fingers trailing for the pulse point.  
“You’re doing great, that’s it.” He exclaimed when Peter’s chest raised for the third time, followed by a small, wet cough that ceased as quickly as it had come. There was no thump against his fingertips.  
He wasted no second after Pepper’s fifth breath to get his hands back on Peter’s chest. They worked in silence from then on, orders clear and obvious: Tony was doing the compressions, Pepper initiated the breathing. Whoever wasn’t directly working had an eye on Morgan. The girl hadn’t moved, but Tony saw her hiding her face in a towel. Without understanding much, she must know how things currently looked. That her parent’s weren’t working furiously on her ‘big blob’ and best friend because he was fine.  
“We’re here for you.” Tony exclaimed, trying to reassure himself, but also to give Peter something to come back to. He might not believe in the pathway to light during a near death - he almost choked on the thought alone, deciding not to go further down that line. Instructors had been very clear about the chances of survival in cardiac arrest cases, but numbers had never applied to Peter. Tony wouldn’t let them. “Just come back to us, alright? Keep working with us.”  
Working on Peter’s side applied to every reflexive movement the kid made: the involuntary exhale, the small constrictions of his throat, changes in the color of his lips from blueish to ghastly white, even the small noises. Each of them was a dagger through his heart - the snorting was a result of his body trying to get rid of the foam that appeared to hinder the breathing, an awful, piercing, barely human sound. Tony and Pepper praised each and every one of them.  
“That’s it kiddo, that’s it.” He panted during the fourth round of compressions, as if a slight moving of his tongue already meant Peter was back. His arms already burned and his mind was dealing with the horrifying reality that it began to feel less and less strange how the boy’s bones shifted under the pressure applied. It should never have been like that, never. They were supposed to have a happy family trip. Peter should be sunbathing, or having a pizza big enough to satisfy his insane metabolism. The lump in his throat began turning to anger. Not towards Peter, but the universe.  
“C’mon!” He screamed, the unfairness of the situation intensifying his efforts yet again, pushes on the boy’s chest coming quicker, stomach barely able to sink before the next compression forced it to bulge. Peter’s snores began sounding like he was choking, even more foam plastering the lower side of his face, Pepper not fast enough to properly wipe it all away.  
“That was just a tide. Just water. You’re better than to let yourself force down by that.” He was talking nonsense and he knew it, but didn’t find it within himself to care. Not when the boy was still non-responsive even after so many circles of CPR.  
“Tony, let me-“ He looked up, suddenly realizing he had started sobbing. Given the circumstances, he couldn’t tell the exact reason for it: Was it his mentee, dead under his hands? Was it the numbness of his arms, the burning in his muscles? Or just the wind? He really couldn’t tell anything but how the present _hurt_. He let himself being pushed aside, switching positions with his wife who’d seen earlier than him that he began to lose strength. Strange how no one told you that you could train lifting weights for hours but still failed in heart massage after just a few minutes.  
Pepper took over his job with surprising bravado, her compressions being not as effective as Tony’s at the beginning, but way better than what the man had been able to manage. She had just as many tears in her eyes as he had but blinked them away, trying to think straight, let the image of Peter coughing up water be her internal motivator. He would. She had to believe he would.  
But with the continuous task at hand gone, his facade crumbled. Keeping an eye on Morgan, who still covered her face in towels in clothing, all he could think of was the seconds that passed, and that every second meant even so slightly lessened chances of survival. He couldn’t loose Peter. This couldn’t happen. Never.  
He leaned down when Pepper gave him the sign, swallowing vomit when having to get rid of the foam covering the area around the kid’s lips. Shouldn’t that have stopped already? Where was all that fluid coming from? Why wasn’t he breathing by now?  
“I love you.” He whispered, realigning the boy’s neck to prepare for another rescue breath. “You hear me, kid?” Pausing, he inhaled deeply and forced the air through his windpipe, hoping it would reach his lungs and urge the system to start working again. “I love you.”  
The words sounded hollow, uttered in such an extreme situation, but it was the only thing Tony could think about. “So please, please-” He gave another breath. “Come back to us.”  
Please. He repeated mentally, deciding to save the air, Peter needing all of it. I’d do everything.  
If anything was true about the gods hearing all the prayers, they we’re insanely cruel to him that day: Being forced to watch someone else pumping Peter’s chest, not being able to do anything but hope. Hope that it wouldn’t take them any longer before the boy would sputter under the pressure of the pumps Pepper administered.  
Just to calm himself, he reached for the kid’s wrist, just to feel the slight thumps against his fingertips, the weak signs that as long as they were still working, nothing was lost.  
They stopped once Pepper lifted her hands.  
And returned, a few seconds later.  
Tony’s eyes widened suddenly, not in fear, but surprise as he firmly held Pepper back, leaning down to Peter’s face, new energy filling him.  
“Peter? You with us yet?”  
There was no response, but the movement against his fingertips continued. He eased the grip on the kid’s wrist to move his knuckles up and down Peter’s sternum.  
A twitch, then a cough, then a full blown coughing fit, accompanied by water and salvia.  
“Yes!”  
They hurried to turn Peter in recovery position, making sure he wouldn’t accidentally inhale the fluid his body tried to dispose. Tony muttered soft reassurances under his breath, despite doubting the kid could actually hear them, as he didn’t show signs of returning to consciousness just yet. But he was breathing, slowly, a little shallow, and that was all Tony cared for, because it meant that the worst was over. Wasn’t it?  
He and Pepper exchanged a glance before she stood up and made her way back to get some towels. Tony stayed at Peter’s side, a place he wouldn’t leave for a while.  
He coughed again, weaker this time, and Tony rested a hand on his shoulder, thumb caressing the shoulder blades.  
“Let it out, that’s it. Just get it all out.” Peter’s skin was still way too cool for Tony’s liking, and he was glad when Pepper covered him with the towel, leaving only his feet still visible.  
“Daddy?” Morgan’s voice was shaking, and Tony braced himself. A very small part of him was mad, furious even, at how her reckless behavior had literally caused him to almost loose both his children. The more mature, loving and rational part of him knew that Morgan had never wanted it. She was a child, after all, a toddler. She couldn’t have possibly understood what happened.  
He patted on the sand next to him with the hand not occupied in soothing Peter.  
“Is Pete hurt?” She asked when he wrapped his arm around her, holding the girl as close as possible before pressing a kiss on her forehead.  
“A little.” He said, not daring to tell her anything more than that. With a little luck only one or two of the boy’s rips were dislocated (at least that’s those he could feel), and his breathing would get better once they got all water from his lungs in the hospital. Years of live experience had just taught not to consider luck. Which didn’t mean that he wasn’t hoping.  
“‘m sorry I -“ Morgan’s breath hitched and she tucked her face closer to his chest.  
“Hey, sweetie. It’s not your fault.” Pepper assured, rubbing the towel over Peter’s body in hope to help circulation and warm him up. Tony slightly squeezed his shoulder before deciding that the best he could do was help practically. At the moment, Peter needed warmth more than physical comfort.  
“She’s right, moon-pie.” He said. “Everything is going to be fine. He just needs to stay warm and cozy.” Morgan nodded her understanding, holding back the tears. She didn’t understand things entirely, but cozy was something she could work with. Peter always wrapped her in blankets, cuddled with her and loved her to pieces and that never failed to make her feel happy and loved.  
Tony’s eyes were fixed on her when she moved away from him, shuffling closer to Peter’s side. For a moment he wanted to hold her back before understanding her intentions were solely with stroking through his hair, although the movement was closer to patting than caressing. Tony suddenly struggled with blinking away his tears but tried to concentrate on the task at hand.  
“We have to keep an eye on his breathing.” He muttered quietly, hoping that only Pepper would understand, before rubbing over Peter’s chest more eagerly than before. The boy’s breaths were incredibly shallow and irregular, as if his body was still unsure whether it could - and wanted - to fulfill the task or not. Tony blamed it on the effects of the remaining water in his system, but that failed to ease his worries.  
“And I’d prefer he’d come to...” He added, gaze moving upwards to the kid’s face, eerily peaceful, like it had been yesterday when he fell asleep in the beach hut, curled up to himself. God, he just needed to hear his voice, make sure he was alright. Slowly and carefully, he patted the boy’s cheek.  
“Hey, kiddo.” He said, louder than he normally would. “Time to wake up now, isn’t it?” Even Morgan raised her hands in anticipation, as if not wanting to disrupt the waking up process.  
“Yeah Pete, you have to wake up.” She said, almost sternly. “Sleeping during the day only screws up your bio- your bio-“ Tony would’ve huffed a laugh at her attempts on saying biorhythm, especially given the fact that she’d probably only learned from Pepper after Tony spent another long night at the lab. This way, he simply went with it, hoping the inside joke helped arousing his kid. “Oh no, kid, you don’t want to destroy your biorhythm, do you? You can have a nap later.”  
A pretty long one, considering they’d definitely insist on keeping him under supervision for one night. Peter still didn’t respond, but his skin became less chilly by the minute. Whatever joy that might’ve brought was suffocated by the realization that the gasps between the shallow intakes of air became wider and wider - until they stopped completely.  
“Fuck.” slipped from his mouth before his parental instincts could prevent it. Shoving Morgan half behind him all so gently so she wouldn’t have to see he used his free arm to turn Peter back on his back.  
“This is not a thing you should take a break from.” Tony remarked, dry humor saving him from loosing his mind before he repositioned the boy’s neck and locked his lips against his again, twice. Leaning down for the third time, he could feel a small amount of warm air tickling his cheeks.  
“Good boy. Keep that up, kid, you’re going to be okay.” His words were followed by another spurt of water causing both him and Pepper to spurt into action simultaneously, maneuvering the still way to limp form back on it’s side. Tony could swear Peter’s eyelashes fluttered a little, but not even a sternum rub caused a vocal response. Aside of his regular breathing, he remained still.  
By the time the EMTs arrived, everyone had gotten back in his position. Morgan was sitting next to Peter, softly humming something that was probably intended to be a nursery rhyme, while Pepper and Tony dealt as best as they could with the wave of adrenaline washing off, leaving them with nothing but feelings of utter shock and the realization of how close they’d come to a full blown catastrophe. Tony calmed himself with repeated reassurances towards Peter that only intensified when the paramedics came in sight.  
“You did it, Peter. Like you always do.” He praised, caressing the boy’s cheek. “Everything will going to be okay. You’ve fought enough, you can rest now.” The words hit close to the truth when it became obvious that Peter’s breathing and ox stat were looking less than satisfying. It came as no surprise for a riptide incident, but Tony had hoped he would be spared seeing the kid get intubated. Pepper wrapped her arms around Morgan to prevent her from seeing what was going on, but she continuously fought against the hold, catching glimpses of how they were stuffing a tube in his mouth that did not look cozy and comfortable at all. She would’ve ran off if it wasn’t a for Pepper still holding her tight.  
“Stop it!” She screamed, kicking her legs as heavy as she could, tears already trailing down her petite face. “You’re hurting him!” At the sob, Pepper immediately tried to shush her again, explaining:  
“They’re helping him, baby.” But Morgan just shook her head, continuing to scream. Not even soft reassuring words from Tony did their usual magic.  
It was one of the paramedics, a young woman, that managed to do it while her collages with the help of a very stern Tony lifted Peter onto a stretcher. She squatted in front of the girl and waited until Morgan turned to look at her, still sniffling. The woman stretched out her hand, having freed it of the gloves just a minute ago.  
“My name is Katie.” She said softly. “What’s yours?”  
Morgan considered responding, but needed a few very deep breaths to formulate a coherent word anyway.”  
“M-Morgan.” She stuttered, before another heavy sob cursed through her.  
“Morgan? That’s a beautiful name.” Katie paused for a second. “You must be pretty scared right now, aren’t you?”  
To everyone’s surprise, the girl shook her head.  
“No?” Pepper asked, and was even more shocked by her response.  
“Not scared.” She wiped her eyes with her little fists. “Mad. You do bad things to my Peter.” A sniffle. But before Pepper found it in herself to respond, Katie already did.  
“Have you ever used a snorkel before to dive really deep?” Her lower lip still wobbling in frustration, Morgan nodded. Of course she had. Peter had bought her one last Easter so she could’ve fun at the beginning of the pool-season.  
“It helps you breathing under the water, doesn’t it?”  
“Yes.”  
“You know, that’s what we just did, too. We built a snorkel that works outside the water, so that your big brother can breathe a little better. Do you understand that?” Morgan was quiet for a second, then nodded. This way, it really made a little sense.  
Years later, Pepper would always wonder if it was Katie, or that day in general shaping her daughter’s wish to become a paramedic one day.

* * *

The girls arrived at the hospital merely ten minutes after the ambulance (it hadn’t even been a question that Tony went with Peter), but it took a while until they were allowed to see Peter who - as they’d already suspected - was due to spend at the very least one night under medical supervision.

Tony entered the room alone, he and Pepper still pondering whether Morgan should see her big brother like that. Even if his vitals had improved and he could get extubated shortly after the water had been drained from his lungs, he still did look far from his best: A nasal cannula provided him with extra oxygen, and the cables and wires covering his chest measured all important stats. Truth being told, Tony had seen the boy in worse situations than that after rough Avengers missions, but that’s exactly where the difference was: Peter hadn’t gotten hurt fighting against aliens from another dimension, but on a holiday trip with him and his family.  
The man let out a shaky breath when he settled down at the armchair next to the boy’s bed, hand reaching for his.  
“Don’t ever do that to me again.” He whispered, barely hearing himself over the beeping of the heart monitor. “Promise me you’ll never do that.” Almost as if responding, Peter’s fingers curled, causing Tony to smile weakly, despite knowing it was a mere sleeping behavior of his. But the soft mumbles and snores were the most beautiful sounds he’s ever heard, especially after everything else coming from his boy’s vocal cords that day.  
God, how he was going to cherish the kid’s snoring from that day forward, he thought, massaging Peter’s knuckles, repeating his words from earlier that day.  
“You fought so well, you can rest now. I’m here, I’ll look out for you.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Drowning, Temporary Character Death *** Stay safe, everyone.
> 
> Comments and kudos are cookies, there’s never enough!


End file.
